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Trump and Queen arrive in Portsmouth for D-day commemoration – live news Trump and Macron address veterans in Portsmouth D-day commemoration – live news
(32 minutes later)
Theresa May is now reading out a letter written by a Captain Skinner to his wife two days for before D-day.
In it, Skinner said this was a difficult letter to write. Anyone with imagination must worry about what will happen, Skinner said. He said he had had some lovely years with his wife. He could imagine his family in the garden. He would give anything to be with them, but would not back down from the job he had to do. He asked his wife to give his love to his children.
After May finishes, the text of a telegram later sent to Mrs Skinner announcing her husband’s death was read out.
Here is the translation of the letter from a French resistance fighter read out by Emmanuel Macron, the French president. (See 12.03pm.)
My dear parents, My letter is going to cause you great sorrow, but I have seen you so full of courage in the past that I do not doubt that you will remain courageous, if only out of love for me.
I am going to die for my country. I want France to be free and the French to be happy. I do not want France to be arrogant and the world’s leading nation but hard-working, industrious and honest.
Scuffles broke out in the centre of Portsmouth today after groups of football casuals marched through a protest against the US president’s presence in the city during D-Day commemorations.A few dozen men marching behind a banner with the crest of Portsmouth Football Club at the centre of a Union flag chanted ‘scum, scum, scum’ as they arrived midway through speeches by trade unionists and others who had organised a gathering of a few hundred people in the city’s Guildhall Square.Police stepped in as the men scattered and tried to square up to those in the protest, who broke into chants of ‘nazi scum off our streets.
Amid some pushing and shoving, one man with a US flag wrapped around his waist grabbed one of the protest placards and snapped after waving part of it around. The group then adjourned to a pub as the rally continued with speakers evoking the sacrifice of D Day veterans who had fought to liberate Europe from nazism.
I will be focusing on the D-day commemoration for the next half an hour, and will pick up PMQs later.
In Portsmouth Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is now reading out a letter written by a French resistance fighter.
He starts by thanking the other countries on behalf of his nation.
Then he reads out the letter, in French. In it, the fighter says he does not fear death because his conscience is clear.
President Trump, at 75th D-Day anniversary in Portsmouth, reads from FDR’s “Mighty Endeavor” World War II prayer pic.twitter.com/Oeq8LgMv4M
These are from my colleague Ben Quinn who is in Portsmouth.
A group of pro Trump football casual types have just arrived at the anti Trump protest on the centre of Portsmouth pic.twitter.com/zGGhZQ1w1a
A few scuffles braking out.. police stepping amid shouts of ‘nazi scum off our streets’ pic.twitter.com/YqPAb2u4R6
This guy has just grabbed a protestor’s placard and broke it up after waving the debris around pic.twitter.com/buvfLe0NKF
President Trump is speaking now at the D-day event. He is reading from a D-day prayer written by FD Roosevelt, the US president in 1944.
The FDR D-Day prayer from which Pres Trump will read today can be seen and heard at https://t.co/swiOJVB9mq
World leaders attending the D-day commemoration in Portsmouth include: French president Emmanuel Macron, prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, President Donald Trump, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison, prime minister Charles Michel from Belgium, the Czech Republic’s prime minister Andrej Babis, president Prokopis Pavlopoulos from Greece, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, the prime minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, the Dutch PM Mark Rutte, Norway’s PM Erna Solberg, Poland’s PM Mateusz Morawiecki and Slovakia’s deputy prime minister Richard Rasi.World leaders attending the D-day commemoration in Portsmouth include: French president Emmanuel Macron, prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, President Donald Trump, Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison, prime minister Charles Michel from Belgium, the Czech Republic’s prime minister Andrej Babis, president Prokopis Pavlopoulos from Greece, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel, the prime minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, the Dutch PM Mark Rutte, Norway’s PM Erna Solberg, Poland’s PM Mateusz Morawiecki and Slovakia’s deputy prime minister Richard Rasi.
At the commemoration Trudeau has just read out the citation from the first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross in world war two - a soldier who led his men across a bridge under heavy fire saying “there’s nothing to worry about here”.At the commemoration Trudeau has just read out the citation from the first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross in world war two - a soldier who led his men across a bridge under heavy fire saying “there’s nothing to worry about here”.
The D-day commemoration is mostly ceremonial, but it does have a political edge to it. To coincide with it, Downing Street has got the 16 nations who are attending to sign something called the “D-day proclamation”.The D-day commemoration is mostly ceremonial, but it does have a political edge to it. To coincide with it, Downing Street has got the 16 nations who are attending to sign something called the “D-day proclamation”.
Here is the text in full.Here is the text in full.
Seventy five years ago, our countries were about to embark on a decisive battle.Seventy five years ago, our countries were about to embark on a decisive battle.
On 6 June 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed at Normandy, signalling the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Casualty figures on all sides were immense, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, aviators and civilians killed or wounded in the days and weeks that followed.On 6 June 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed at Normandy, signalling the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Casualty figures on all sides were immense, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, aviators and civilians killed or wounded in the days and weeks that followed.
We stand together today to honour the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on D-Day, and those many millions of men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War, the largest conflict in human history.We stand together today to honour the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on D-Day, and those many millions of men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War, the largest conflict in human history.
We affirm that it is our shared responsibility to ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated.We affirm that it is our shared responsibility to ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated.
Over the last 75 years, our nations have stood up for peace in Europe and globally, for democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. We re-commit today to those shared values because they support the stability and prosperity of our nations and our people. We will work together as allies and friends to defend these freedoms whenever they are threatened.Over the last 75 years, our nations have stood up for peace in Europe and globally, for democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. We re-commit today to those shared values because they support the stability and prosperity of our nations and our people. We will work together as allies and friends to defend these freedoms whenever they are threatened.
We commit to work constructively as friends and allies to find common ground where we have differences of opinion and to work together to resolve international tensions peacefully.We commit to work constructively as friends and allies to find common ground where we have differences of opinion and to work together to resolve international tensions peacefully.
We will act resolutely, with courage and tenacity, to protect our people against threats to our values and challenges to peace and stability.We will act resolutely, with courage and tenacity, to protect our people against threats to our values and challenges to peace and stability.
In this way, we salute the surviving veterans of D-Day and we honour the memories of those who came before us.In this way, we salute the surviving veterans of D-Day and we honour the memories of those who came before us.
We will ensure that the sacrifices of the past are never in vain and never forgotten.We will ensure that the sacrifices of the past are never in vain and never forgotten.
Mostly this is a conventional and rather bland restatement of democratic values. But the paragraph I’ve highlighted in bold about working constructively together “to find common ground ... and ... to resolve international tensions peacefully” can be seen as an attempt to nudge President Trump away from isolationism and back towards upholding what is described as the rules-based international order (RBIO).Mostly this is a conventional and rather bland restatement of democratic values. But the paragraph I’ve highlighted in bold about working constructively together “to find common ground ... and ... to resolve international tensions peacefully” can be seen as an attempt to nudge President Trump away from isolationism and back towards upholding what is described as the rules-based international order (RBIO).
The Queen delivered a similar message to Trump in her speech at the state banquet on Monday.The Queen delivered a similar message to Trump in her speech at the state banquet on Monday.
The 16 nations who have backed the D-day proclamation are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.The 16 nations who have backed the D-day proclamation are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
In Portsmouth the D-day commemoration event is just starting.In Portsmouth the D-day commemoration event is just starting.
Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, are both at the D-day commemoration.Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, are both at the D-day commemoration.
President Trump and his wife Melania have arrived at Portsmouth for the D-day commemoration.
And here is the Queen arriving.
There’s a festival atmosphere in the public viewing area on Southsea Common ahead of the D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth.
Residents and visitors are separated from the official area by fences and walls and armed police survey are observing the scene from a temporary tower.
But people have brought in deckchairs and picnics and grabbed spots in front of the big screens that will relay the official commemoration event when it begins on the other side of the barricades.
There are burger stands and beer tents and merchandise stalls selling everything from souvenir mugs to fridge magnets and tea towels. Very British.
There are a few grumbles from local people that they are not going to see the Queen or Donald Trump in person because of the tight security. No sign of demonstrators on the common as yet.
A mile away from Southsea Common, some anti-Trump protestors are gathering in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square. The idea is that they don’t want it to appear that they are protesting against the veterans.
One of the organisers, Simon Magurian from Portsmouth Stand Up To Racism, said:
Thousands of local people have signed a petition opposing his involvement. We are protesting against a racist who aligns with the far right. He supports the very forces women and men died to defeat.
Donald Trump will be greeted by images of the baby blimp effigy of himself when he visits Portsmouth on the final day of his state visit, the Press Association reports. A campaign group which “hacks” advertising boards has plastered images of the balloon, which flew over Parliament Square on Tuesday, to bus shelters in the city. A Special Patrol Group spokesman said:
The Trump Baby has relentlessly trolled the president across the world, from London to Paris to Buenos Aires, and we wanted to make sure that he got a look-in at Portsmouth too. D-day is about commemorating the fight against fascism, but Trump is pursuing a dangerous far-right agenda and fanning the flames of hatred.
President Trump has been tweeting again about his state visit.
Could not have been treated more warmly in the United Kingdom by the Royal Family or the people. Our relationship has never been better, and I see a very big Trade Deal down the road. “This trip has been an incredible success for the President.” @IngrahamAngle
@IngrahamAngle is Laura Ingraham, a Fox News broadcaster.
Jeremy Hunt has had a one-to-one meeting with Donald Trump, a source close to the foreign secretary said. As the Press Association reports, the talks took place on Tuesday night, towards the end of the second day of the US president’s state visit. Trump is expected to meet fellow Tory leadership contender Michael Gove today and has already spoken by telephone to Boris Johnson.
Yesterday at this press conference Trump said he did not know what Gove was like. But in his interview with Good Morning Britain, Trump was more positive about Gove. He said:
I don’t know him. I met him last night [ie, Monday night] at the dinner for the first time. I thought he was very good. You have a lot of good people running. I was saying to the Queen last night, the choice of your next prime minister is very important.
On the subject of the Conservative leadership, here is the latest ConservativeHome tally of how many MP endorsements each candidate has. And here are the numbers.
Boris Johnson - 46
Jeremy Hunt - 32
Michael Gove - 29
Dominic Raab - 24
Sajid Javid - 17
Matt Hancock - 11
Esther McVey - 6
Mark Harper - 5
Rory Stewart - 5
Andrea Leadsom - 3
Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, has been giving interviews today ahead of the D-day commemoration. But she has been refusing to say whether she will enter the contest for the Conservative leadership. “I think, today, this is not about me or the Conservative party, it is about these amazing veterans. We should have the focus on them, please,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Like Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn will be missing PMQs today because he is attending the D-day commemoration in Portsmouth. D-day may be the only American-led invasion in history that he has endorsed. This morning he released this statement paying tribute to the people who took part in it. He said:
The troops that landed on the beaches of France 75 years ago showed unimaginable heroism. Many laid down their lives in the fight against fascism.
People will have heard the recent serialisation of Anne Frank’s Diaries on BBC radio. It was heart-breaking to hear her excitement and optimism about the Allied landings in Normandy, shortly before she was transported to Auschwitz, and then Bergen-Belsen.
It was a poignant reminder of the evils of Nazism, and why its defeat by the Allied forces was so essential for humanity.
We must not just commemorate those who fought, and died, but honour them by opposing the forces of hatred today.
Only by standing up to hate, oppression and war can we protect international cooperation and peace.
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has released his Tory leadership campaign video this morning.
Take a look at my video and join our campaign at https://t.co/w9gQb4LCad pic.twitter.com/4pZTvd9zwK
It is slightly reminiscent of a famous Conservative party election broadcast in 1992 which featured John Major returning to Brixton, where he grew up, and reminiscing about his modest upbringing there. At one point, Major wonders if a house he used to live in is still there and, as his car approaches it, declares “it is, it is”. Hunt’s “it is” moment comes at the start of the video, when he returns to the garage where he set up his publishing business 25 years ago. He explains:
Now that might look like any old garage but to me it actually means something because above that garage is where I set up my publishing business. And coming back here for the first time in 25 years it looks a bit small. That business actually grew to more than 200 people. But this is where I employed the very first one.
Unlike Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, his two main rivals, Hunt was a successful entrepreneur before he became an MP and he focuses on this in his video, claiming that this shows he has the skills needed to be PM. In the video he says:
If you want to make it [running a business], you’ve got to show leadership, negotiating skills and confidence. And that’s what we need to do as a country right now with the Brexit challenge that we face.
It is the final day of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK and he will join other world leaders for what is likely to be a sombre and moving event in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-day. But this morning ITV’s Good Morning Britain has been broadcasting an interview Trump did with Piers Morgan yesterday, and various important lines have emerged. As Rowena Mason reports, Trump has gone back on the comment he made in his press conference yesterday about how he would want access to the NHS to be part of a US-UK trade deal.
Trump wavers after saying NHS must be on table in US-UK trade talks
As Matthew Weaver and Kate Lyons report, Trump also revealed that Prince Charles spent 75 minutes longer than scheduled trying to convince him of the dangers of climate change.
Donald Trump tells Prince Charles US is 'clean' on climate change
In a tweet this morning Trump has also reverted to his habit of lying about the reception he has received on the streets in London. He has already twice claimed, falsely, that there were large crowds of people supporting him (see here and here) but now he is claiming that the “corrupt” media is suppressing the truth. Because it is so obviously a symptom of vanity, it it tempting to laugh, but disregarding the truth so blatantly is straight out of Orwell’s 1984.
I kept hearing that there would be “massive” rallies against me in the UK, but it was quite the opposite. The big crowds, which the Corrupt Media hates to show, were those that gathered in support of the USA and me. They were big & enthusiastic as opposed to the organized flops!
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, gives a speech to the Policy Exchange thinktank.
9am: Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, holds a phone-in on LBC.
9.50am: Equality and Human Rights Commission chairman David Isaac and its chief executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, give evidence to the Commons women and equalities committee.
11am: The Queen, Theresa May, Donald Trump and other world leaders attend the D-day commemoration event at Portsmouth.
12pm: David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, takes PMQs. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, is for the first time standing in for Jeremy Corbyn.
12.30pm: Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter and deputy chair of the European Research Group, publishes a paper on Brexit.
2.15pm: Michael Gove, the environment secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, gives evidence to the Scottish affairs committee on post-Brexit agriculture.
4.50pm: Trump arrives at Shannon airport in Ireland, where he will hold talks with Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, before going to his golf course at Doonbeg where he will be staying the night.
5pm: Gove, Hancock, Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab speak at a private hustings organised by the One Nation group of Tory MPs.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on the D-day commemoration and developments in the Tory leadership contest. I plan to post a summary at the end of the day.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
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